Oil can



W. A. COE

OIL CAN Jan. 5, 1926. 1,568,657

Filed Dec. 29 192 Patented Jan. 5, 1926.

D, ES PATENT oFFrcE;

wILLrs, A.; co ns or; 'rnnivron, NEBRASKA.

' VIOIL CAN.

Application filed Deceni ber 29, 1924. Serial No. 7581707.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WVILLIS A. Con, a citizen of the United States, residing at Trenton, in the county of Hitchcock and State of Nebraska, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Oil Cans,

of which the following is a specification.

This invention relatesto improvements in Another object of the invention is to pro-,

vide a locking means which will be highly efficient and, at the same time, be simple in construction and inexpensive to manufacture so that it may be embodied in the construction of the can without'adding' materially to the cost of manufacture of the aricle as a Whole.

In the accompanying drawing: Figure 1 is a view in elevation of an oil can embodying the present invention.

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the can. In the drawing, the body of the can is indicated by the numeral 1 and is of the usual form and provided with the usual threaded mouth 2, at its top, which mouth receives the usual threaded portion of the usual spout cap 3 carrying the oil conducting spout 4. These parts do not differ from,

those of the ordinary can except that the cap 3 is provided with a circumscribing flange 5 which is formed at intervals in its circumference with notches 6, each having an inclined wall 7 and an abrupt'wall 8 radial to the axis of the cap, the walls 8 of the notches facing in the direction in which the cap is rotated to unthread it from the mouth of the can.

The locking device embodying the invention is in the nature of a resilient detent finger which is indicated by the numeral 9 and the said finger is preferable formed from a strip of resilient sheet metal of uniform widththroughout its lengthriveted at one end as at 10, or secured in any other suitable manner, to the upper side of the body 1 of the can. The finger 9 is curved to substantially volute form and extends upwardly from its attached end towardthe cap 3 of the can spout and with its free end bearing in engagement with the 'peripheryof'the flange 5 of the said cap. As stated, the finger is of volute form and the curvature of the finger is such that its engaging end, in-

dicated by the numeral 11, is perpendicular- 1y disposed and presentedfldirectly toward andparallel to the axis of the cap; It will now be understood that when the cap is threaded into the mouth of the can and is securely tightened, the engaging end of'the detent finger will seat in one or another of the notches 6 in the flange 5 and against the abrupt wall 8 of the notch, so that backward rotation of the cap, which would result in its becoming loosened or completely unthreaded from the mouth of the can, will be effectually prevented, and, therefore, waste of the oil and loss of the spout and cap are prevented. It will be understood, of course, that due to the resiliency of the detent finger, it may be sprung outwardly from engagement with the flange of the cap to permit of unthreading of the cap from the mouth of the can when it is necessary to sup ply oil to the can. It will furthermore be evident that inasmuch as the lower end of the detent finger is secured to the upwardly tapering or inclined side of the body of the can and the finger is bent to volute form, its resiliency is enhanced and, at the same time, is better adapted to prevent backward rotation of the cap of the can spout ina much as any strain imposed upon its free end, under such conditions, will result not only in a tendency to flex the finger against its inherent resiliency, but also exert a more or less torsional strain along the length of the finger so that there is less tendency to bend the finger at, and adjacent its free end than would be the case if the finger were of notches 6, it will be understood that the flange may be provided with any other equivalent means for coacting with the detent finger, the abrupt walls 8 of the notclies constituting, in effect, abutments upon the said flange.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim is:

1. The combination with an oil can having a spout cap threaded into its mouth, of a flange upon the cap surrounding the same and provided with a series of abutments, and a resilient volute detent finger secured at one end to the can and extending circulnferentially of the can with its other end in engagement with the flange for ooaction with the abutments thereon.

2. The combination with an oil can having a spout cap in threaded engagement with its mouth, of a flange upon the cap surrounding the same and provided with a series of abutments having faces disposed radially of the can, and a resilient detent finger formed of a flat strip of resilient material having one end portion secured flat upon the can and extending upwardly from said end on a volute curve circumferentially of the can and turned transversely to dispose its upper end portion in a plane longitudinally of the can, said detent having its free end in bearing engagement with the peripheral edge of said flange whereby a flat outer face of the detent may have engagement with the radial faces of said abutments to lock the cap against turning in one direction.

3. The combination with an oil can having a spout cap in threaded engagement with its mouth, of a flange upon the cap surrounding the same and provided wlth a action with the abutments thereon, the said engaging end of the finger being perpendicular and parallel to the axis of the cap.

4. The combination with an oil can having a spout cap in threaded engagement with its mouth, of a flange upon the cap surrounding the same and provided with a series of notches each having a wall sub stantially radial to the axis of the cap, and a resilient detent finger secured at one end to the can the finger being extended upwardly from its said end on a volute curve and having its free end disposed perpendicularly and in engagement with the periphery ot' the flange.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

WILLIS A. con. 11. s.] 

